Ron Henderson lost his sister, Kelly, 10 years ago. Driving northbound with her 12- year-old twin boys, the young mother's car was hit by a tractor- trailer trying to navigate a dangerous S-curve near the Killarney turnoff on Highway 69. Both boys, Corbin and Jordin Sauve, along with their mother, were killed. And a mission was born.

"At her funeral a few days later, I met an enraged Rick Bartolucci, who told me he was sick and tired of going to funerals," said Henderson, a member of the Crash 69 committee. "He told me he'd set up a lobby group, called Crash 69, to four -ane Highway 69."

Now, days before the 10-year anniversary of his sister's death, Henderson joined Bartolucci, Sudbury's Liberal MPP, and federal cabinet minister John Baird to celebrate the completion of a very important section in the Highway 69 widening project.

Thirteen kilometres of highway from Highway 637 to Estaire have been widened and realigned, eliminating the deadly S-curve. In three years, the completed four-laned highway should stretch to just north of French River.

"This is not easy construction," Henderson said. "I can tell you 10 years ago, fourlaning Highway 69 wasn't even on the radar. To be here, to see four lanes ... to see those nasty S-curves eliminated on this highway ... to me is truly remarkable."

While the highway was officially opened on Friday, it won't be open to cars until Aug. 8. Both the provincial and federal government provided funding for the project, which should stretch from Sudbury to Parry Sound.

The initiative's original projected cost was about $1.1 billion, but will likely exceed that amount. The 13-kilometre stretch unveiled Friday cost around $68.2 million.

The federal government provided $35.8 million for the project and the province paid the remainder. While four-laning the highway, crews also set up Ontario's first overhead wildlife crossing bridge, which should reduce wildlife crashes.

For Bartolucci, who is also Ontario's Northern Development and Mines minister, the project is an important one.

"This is the famous S-corner in Killarney, the spot where many lives have been lost," he said at a media event celebrating the completion of this section. While there have been some issues with the environenntal assesment process, the goal is still to have the highway completed by 2017.

"We will do ever ything in (our) power to make sure that happens," he said.

The project was delayed partly because of a January 2010 Supreme Court of Canada ruling. The ruling stated that environmental assessments must to be done on entire projects, rather than just sections.

The federal review team responsible for the assessment told the Ontario Ministry of Transportation that it was unable to make a decision on the project as a whole.

Baird, Canada's minister of Foreign Affairs, said the federal government eventually found a way to move the assessments forward.

"There was a Supreme Court ruling that obviously had an effect," he said. "(We thought) how can we move to one environmental assessment, rather than two."

The ministry and federal agency eventually reached a deal to assess five separate sections of the highway, despite the Supreme Court ruling.

While the new stretch of highway is a victory for Henderson, the moment is bittersweet.

"I certainly know the fourlaning won't bring (my family) back," he said. "It's gratifying to know (the four-laning) is being done to create a safe highway for (other families)."